New Zealand: Is It Safe For Cycle Tourists?
“Is it safe to bike tour in New Zealand?”
We’ve been asked that question a lot lately, suggesting that recent high-profile collisions between cycle tourists and motorists, including the death of a young German woman in January 2010, are threatening to ruin New Zealand’s reputation as one of the world’s best places for bike touring.
Concerns about cycling safety won’t be anything new to local New Zealanders, especially those active in running safer cycling campaigns, not only to save lives but to protect the $320 million dollars in economic benefits that cycle touring brings to New Zealand every year.
“We are very concerned at the worsening state of many roads in NZ for cyclists,” Bevan Woodward, a spokesman for the Cycling Advocates Network, wrote in an email to TravellingTwo.
He pointed out, however, that cycling is still a relatively safe activity in New Zealand. You’re 3 times as likely to be injured if you drive around New Zealand in a car as on a bicycle, according to government statistics on CAN’s website.
To find out more about what bike touring is currently like in New Zealand, we asked for comments from several cyclists. Most of them are New Zealand citizens as well as avid bikers. We hope their thoughts will help you better understand the risks to be aware of if you’re going to New Zealand and also help you get the most out of New Zealand by avoiding the most dangerous situations.
The general points brought up by the people we talked to can be summed up as:
- Avoid the busiest roads and especially State Highway 1 - Staying away from highways makes sense in any country but especially in New Zealand, where the roads are often outdated and overcrowded. You can’t expect to always find a shoulder and because everyone on the highway is trying to get somewhere fast, they’re not patient either.
- Time your journeys – If you have to ride on a busy road, do it early in the morning when traffic is light.
- Stick to the South Island – There are 4 million people in New Zealand and 3 million of them live in the North Island. The South Island offers vastly quieter roads.
- Take advantage of dirt roads and trails – New Zealand has a wealth of wonderful cycling on unpaved roads so don’t come here with a racing bike. Instead, put fat tires on your bike and bring everything you need to camp out and cook for yourself.
You can get more information on touring New Zealand in our New Zealand Resources section, including suggestions for routes in New Zealand that we particularly enjoyed.
Now for the real experts: cyclists who either live in New Zealand or have been there very recently give their opinions. Scroll through their replies, or jump ahead to answers from Jonathan & Ruth Jarman, cycling advocates, David who runs the Cycle Tour NZ website and Chris & Liz, bike tourists who recently toured New Zealand.
Jonathan & Ruth Jarman, Cycling Advocates and Keen Bike Tourists
Cycling advocates Jonathan & Ruth, who live on the North Island of New Zealand and do regular bike tours, say the answer to the question ”is NZ still safe for cyclists?” is a big “yes” with a little “but”.
“Ruth and I started cycle touring 30 years ago. Since then we have noticed a lot of changes in New Zealand. Thirty years ago touring cyclists were a novelty on many roads and it was common for people to wave. There was less traffic and it was cycling heaven. Tea was made with tea leaves and it was almost impossible to buy a decent coffee. Those were the days!
Since then the number of motor vehicles in New Zealand have increased significantly but the roads have not changed. Many of our main roads are narrow and poorly designed for cyclists. In recent years Ruth and I have changed the focus of our cycle touring in New Zealand to something we call heartland touring.”
Jonathan defines heartland touring as cycling that goes off the beaten track, onto New Zealand’s many cross-country roads like the unsealed Molesworth Road and Rainbow Road in the South Island, or the Forgotten Highway, Gentle Annie and the Rimutaka Incline in the North Island.
Read the full answer from Jonathan & Ruth Jarman
David, who runs the helpful Cycle Tour NZ bike touring website
“Unfortunately the death of touring cyclists is not an uncommon event now in New Zealand and there appears to be a general reluctance by the Government and New Zealand culture generally to accept we have a problem, primarily with the driving habits of our truck drivers,” David says.
He believes the North Island is the most dangerous and encourages cyclists to plan their trips accordingly.
“I would still tour New Zealand by bike but would head for the South Island and miss most of the North altogether.”
David also encourages cycle tourists who are worried about New Zealand as a bike touring destination write the press and government tourism office in New Zealand to express their concerns.
Read the full answer from David
Chris & Liz, bike tourists who recently toured New Zealand
Chris and Liz, a cycling couple on their way back to England by bike from New Zealand, have some upbeat news for anyone considering a bike tour in New Zealand.
“Our experience of cycling in both the north and south islands was very positive and compared to the UK and Australia, there is a lot less traffic on the roads in general – less people, less cars etc. We toured there from September to November 2009, so not in the main tourist season.”
They note that there often aren’t many roads to choose from and that trucks make up much of the traffic on the road, but say they were treated well by most drivers.
“We had no problem with the majority of trucks, they gave us space and on the whole seemed to drive with consideration. Some of the trucks knew they created a lot of draft and would warn us with a few beeps before overtaking. Car drivers are generally considerate and give you space, however there is a tendency to overtake for the sake of overtaking. So if a car is going 80km and another car comes up behind it, chances are they will overtake even if they don’t want to go any faster.”
“On the whole our over-arching feeling is that you have the road to yourself quite a lot, especially in the south island and it can be quiet and peaceful. We felt very safe and comfortable on the roads in NZ, with only the occasional car hating driver, that you get in any country.”
Read the full answer from Chris & Liz
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You’ve made me a bit sad with this post. The driving back home is bad. I was quite upset and ashamed when Stephan Stoermer was killed there last year.
Anyway, one of the main suggestions from the Government’s public meetings on the recession was to build a cycle trail that runs the length of the country as a way to attract more cycle tourists and create jobs. I believe some money has already been allocated. Cycle trails on disused rail lines are popping up all over after the success of the Otago one, so perhaps there will be a safe offroad route one day. I would never do an onroad cycle trip during the post-Christmas summer break.
Hi,
we are cycle tourists based in NZ 6 km north of Otorohanga North Island. We have just opened our accomodation for fellow cyclists. It is aptly named Pedalers Rest!
Our website should be up and running soon.
Cycling in NZ is unfortunately not as safe as it was and NZ drivers are not the best in the world. The best advice is not to ride the main roads so inside information will help. Otherwise we are usually a friendly lot and we would loveto see cycliss at our place!
Cheers,
Anita & Ian Bain
Here’s the latest news on the cycle trail development project:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/new-zealand/3318607/Cities-miss-out-on-cycle-trail-cash
Hi, I cycled from Cape Reinga (top of the North Island) to Bluff (bottom of the South Island) over some 3500km in early 2009 and although cycling in NZ was amazing I found it sometimes hazardous to say the least.
I agree, Highway 1 should be avoided if at all possible and that the South Island is probably safer than the North but I had some of my best cycling days on the North Island so to miss it out completely would be a shame.
However, in over 20 years of cycling I have never had so many negative cycling experiences as I had in my 3-months cycling around NZ. Many many cars did not pull out to over take and logging trucks were the worst (I have scuff marks on my inside pannier from being blown off the road against the crash barrier to prove it). I also experienced road rage many times on the North Island the worst being on a quiet lane in the middle of nowhere where I was chased off the road by kids in a car as they stood up out the sunroof and threw things at me!!!! I also met other fellow cyclists who had bottles and eggs thrown at them too.
I think you just have to be careful really; use a rear view mirror, always wear bright clothing, stay as far left on the road as possible, always use a cycle lane/hard shoulder if provided and try to explore quiet roads and tracks. Happy cycling, JB
Hi
that really sounds terrible. I am planning a bluff-to-cape trip myself around february/march 2011. Been a frequent traveller to NZ in the past, never with a bicycle though.
I am not yet sure if to travel with a road bike (thin 700/23 tyres) or a trekking/hybrid bike with fat typres (700/28++). I would prefer the “sportive” version, but that would mean to stay on main roads. After having spotted your comment on saftey; I am not sure that would be a good choice. What do you think? What type of bike were you riding on your tour?
Thanks for any advice or infos
Manfred
I would wholeheartedly recommend going equipped to ride the trails. Quite apart from safety issues, the most amazing scenery is “out there” in the back country. Book a bit more time (don’t expect to do long daily distances on dirt tracks) and enjoy the beautiful views that NZ has to offer.
After I heard about the 5 fatal cycling accidents within 5 days, I followed the cycling safety discusion in the NZ Herald online forum. I now think, cycling across NZ is probably not the best idea I had. Maybe, its is sort of an over-reaction on my part, but I cancelled all the booking arrangements (flight, rental bike) and start planning from scratch – maybe CAnada coast-to-coast or Australia.
Happy cycling
Manfred
A friend and I are planning to do a NZ tour on June-July 2011. But these news have me shocked, and since we have absolutely no experience in road cycling (only the normal cyling in parks) I am a bit scared that something might happen.
I would be very thankful if someon could give us some advice as to which routes are safer for cycling. We will arrive to Auckland and stay 2 months in the country. We would like to get the most beauty of the country, hopefully from the north and south islands.
Please we need some advice!!! and thanks to you all.. this website is the best I have found!
I personally wouldn’t be all too concerned over safety on our roads. January/Feb this year I biked from Christchurch to Hamilton and back, and to be honest this was the best vacations I have had to date. I only had one minor incident in Kaiapoi where someone threw an empty drink bottle at me. Apart from this one incident I was quite surprised by how interested everyone were in what I was doing. When I stopped in at cafes or just parked outside the public toilets it was hard to get away sometimes as the people were just soooo interested in what I was doing. My biggest worry was always getting to my next destination on time, not the people, as were really friendly and kind. I found drivers to be really friendly and got many toots and waves, and I also recieved a whistle blow from every train that went by. I do worry however that some of these posts are giving a bad impression of NZ as a safe and beautiful country in which to bike, and may put people off biking here. We may have all had a couple of bad experiences but I still believe overall this is a magnificent country in which to bike and that you would be doing yourself an injustice if you avoided biking the country due to just a couple of idiots on the road. I enjoyed my first bike ride so much that this in Nov/Dec I am biking Bluff to Cape Reinga and am not expected to come across any trouble on the roads.
Happy pedaling!
That’s great Matthew! It’s really nice to hear a positive report. I agree there’s a fine line between being aware of issues, and scaring people off. New Zealand does have some fantastic scenery and people. It would be great to know which roads you used in the North Island in particular.
Out of Wellington I just went through on the road parallel to the motor way (or SH1) to Porirua where I joint on to SH1 there were quite a few bike trails that went alongside the highway and even when there wasn’t it was still such a pleasure to bike on. I carried on down SH1 to SH57 then SH56 and into P.N. From here I took SH3 to Wanganui and then SH4 to Taumaranui and then SH3 to SH4 enroute to Hamilton. From here SH1 to Tokoroa and then on to Taupo then SH5 to Napier and then SH2 back to P.N. Hope this helps you. Its really just the main traffic route but a lot of these main highways dont really get much traffic anyway XD
Good to know! We also took the SH1 out of Wellington, but I think we carried on further north than you, towards Foxton and Bulls. It was that stretch that I remember as being a bit dangerous. There’s one bridge in particular, just before you come into Foxton, which is pretty hairy. It’s simply not wide enough, and on the day we were there the cars really didn’t want to slow down (they were trying to pass us, even though there was oncoming traffic). Once we turned off the SH1, we had a beautiful ride through the back roads though.
Hi Matthew
let us know how you are doing on your Bluff-to-Cape tour.
And what do you mean by “… biggest worry was always getting to my next destination on time”?
I am currently planning a tour in February 2011. Although I have some ideas about possible routes, I won’t go as far as setting daily destination stops for my tour in advance. It will be more like “wake up (early) in the morning .. see how I feel .. look at the weather forecast) .. and than decide on how far to go and try to get a reservation at some hostel or motel near the destination location” .
Does that approach seem too optimistic. Do I have to plan further in advance in order to ensure accommodation?
Thanks for any hints
Manfred
I think your way sounds like a great way of doing it and I’m sure at that time of year you would have no difficulty securing accommodation. My biggest worry was always getting to my next destination on time because I had a very precise schedule, as I had booked with friends and family along the road before I even left, giving them the exact night I would be arriving. I also had tight time restrictions so that I could arrive home before uni started. The reason it was a worry is that some days I had preplanned were as big at 190km and then if you end up with bad weather that can be a bit of a struggle. However having met a number of other cyclists on the road it would seem that this is rather excessive in comparison to what the normal cyclist bikes.
If you are looking for cheap accomodation (as I was because I’m just a student) then booking backpackers in advance is probably a good idea, however I do not think that will be necessary for you seeing you are biking in February, although I’m not certain about this, I don’t think accommodation is as short at that time of year in comparison to that of the months December/January.
All the best in finding roads you are happy biking on
Matty
hi Matthew, thanks for your input, puts my mind at ease some. i am planning a rather direct, speedy ride from Auckland to Invercargill mid april. i was thinking Te Chaki rd, thermal explorer hwy etc into hamilton, SH3 and 4 to Taumaranui, 4 and 3 to Bulls, then SH1 to Paraparaumu and onto Wellington. i will begin sunday april 17th out of auckland. avid roadie so not timid of motorists but dont want to die either. should i avoid SH1 altogether? fingers crossed that the weather holds for me. any advice?
Hey bruce,
I finished my bike ride from bluff to cape reinga and back to invercargill, it took me 6 weeks, I never had any problem with traffic as it doesnt really bother me either,When i did my bike ride i just always took the shortest possible route, which happens to be SH1 most of the time… I never had any trouble i think your planning on taking the same route as me, and i do asure you it is a great one, amazing scenery esp between taumarunui and wanganui, i think youll love it.
Hope you have great weather (i was lucky as the country was in the middle of a drought YUS!!)
all the best
Matty
As mentioned in an earlier post, I was planning a Bluff-to-Cape tour in February 2011 on a road bike. As a result from several (diverse) feedback I got in the web community, I changed the plan. Now, its a touring bike (700×32) and its no longer Bluff-to-Cape but Bluff-to-Auckland, which gives me more time to stay away from state highways and ride on community roads (especially on North Island). Nevertheless, I would prefer sealed roads and I am looking for web sites with road surface information for such country roads. For instance Raglan Road, Kawhia Rd in the west or TeApitit Road, between Kairakau und Waimarama. Routing with google-maps, google-earth or garmin mapsource (using openGPS NZ ) is not always consistent.
Thanks for any hints
Manfred
I have just started a Bluff to Cape Reinga Journey on my recumbent trike. I started on Thursday and started a bit further south than some other who start at the end of the SH1. I rode couple km on the walkaway and back
I am probably going to do this slowest of any cyclist.
Because I am a paraplegic and recovering, I am on the flat about half as fast as others. I will get fitter along the journey as I get to those hills. I have 42 gears on my trike so I should be able to crawl up any hill?
Another challenge at the moment is that I am my own support vehicle driver!
I need to ride my trike some distance and then hitch hike to recover my campervan and drive to where I left my trike locked on a traffic sign.
You will find me on Facebook.
I remember reading about this on Stuff. Evidently your cause does not receive much recognition, even from the cycling community (I have always held the opinion that people should be taking the ease of their mobility a lot less for granted), but much respect regardless!
Is it safe to cycle in New Zealand? If you wish to take your life in your hands, then go ahead. Generally speaking, the principle of law on the road in NZ, is simply, the bigger your vehicle, the more rights you have, or conversly, the smaller your vehicle….etc. New Zealand motorists have a very big attitude problem, and it comes out in the way they drive, or should l say ‘propell’ their vehicles. Probably this attitude stems from the fact that there is little or no law enforcement on the roads in New Zealand. If you adopt a ‘every man for himself’ attitude, then you may just survive, but personally, you wouldn’t ever get me on a bicycle in New Zealand ever again. Simply, l value my life too much… Theres plenty of other countries that are safer……
I have just returned from a 5 week tour of the South Island (crazyguyonabike slowtour). Yes cycle touring is a relatively more dangerous activity than some (and a little more dangerous than driving)and some roads are definately more dangerous than others. In my experience NZ roads & drivers were much the same as along the East Coast of Australia (I am from Hobart and have ridden from there to Brisbane). If the roads are ok, the drivers gave me plenty of room. If the roads were narrow, a small percentage would just bowl through & hope for the best whether there is enough room or not. I relied on a helmet mirror to see when heavy traffic was going to meet next to me in both directions on a narrow road – then I would often get off the road onto the grass. Not always possible but it usually did the trick. I did have 2″ tyres that gave me some stabiity when I went off the shoulder.
Like many others before me I experienced wonderful hospitality from strangers in NZ and no incidences of road rage at all in 5 weeks and 2,000k I travelled on the South Island. It is also true that for most of the roads I travelled in Sth NZ I saw relatively little traffic (I avoided the busiest highways).
I was cycling in NZ when those 5 cyclists were killed in the one week. I don’t know any of the details but it did bring it home that the roads are a dangerous place – not forgetting that many more motorists are killed on the roads each year and I drive a car during the year as well. We all seem to become used to the motor road toll and drive often without a second thought. Yes cycling is somewhat more dangerous but that isn’t going to stop me from doing what I love instead of travelling around the world in a tin box & missing the best experiences
Look at the risks with open eyes, plan properly, wear bright coloured cothing, use a mirror, and get out there & enjoy yourself.
well said. though in all my years of touring no one has ever thrown a bottle at me… i see mention of that happening to more than one person in the above comments. has me wondering bout those kiwis
I found a piece of sealed road which was totally safe from car drivers.
That was a canal road to Tekapo parallel to SH8. That road was closed to vehicle traffic but I managed to sneak past the gate and I had 11km of road just for myself with tailwind and pretty flat road. Cyclists Nirvana, eh?
In my opinion, New Zealand drivers are the worst in the Western World! I have lived in many countries, driven on both sides of the road, in both cities and countryside and nowhere is it as bad as NZ. I wouldn’t even attempt to cycle on any highway in NZ. These are often single laned, winding roads with speeds the same as any 3-4 lane motorway. It deeply saddens me that I am unable to ‘go green’ in my own country even though we advertise ourselves as 100% PURE. There are few cycle lanes, often no alternative routes to avoid highways, parents are allowed to teach their kids to drive (reinforcing all their horrendous driving habits) and hey-presto…you get a license to drive a vehicle. I think most NZ’ers treat driving like sport – they are desperately trying to beat all the other cars on the road, be the fastest, cut the most corners – they just don’t have the skills to drive properly.
Good luck with the cycling!
Great news for those planning a cycling holiday in New Zealand. The Kennett Brothers have published a new guidebook to 46 cycling trails (http://www.kennett.co.nz/index.php/Books/ClassicNewZealandCycleTrails). This includes all the new NZ Cycle Trail Great Rides, and a bunch of quiet backroads. (Disclaimer: I helped edit this fine book.) So if you want to avoid busy highways, come to New Zealand and take your pick of off- and on-road trails.
Maybe brave last words, but honestly speaking, I have no problems riding on the highways of NZ. I’m now in my second week of journey in NZ and 99% of the drivers make room for you. The 1% that doesn’t races by you, but still there is room of 30 to 50 cm. This is of course very little space when you think there is a speeding difference of many km’s, but I rather focus on the good side. So far, ALL truckers pass me with a wide margin of at least a meter or many times much more, seeing them partly driving on the opposite lane. Truckdrivers are good. It’s the normal cars that make me scare sometimes, when the rush by at 100 km’s with just a few decimeters between me and death.
In any case, death comes from behind and most likely, you won’t see it coming. So I relax, give room to truckers and keep a close watch at my mirror whenever possible.
During rain time I suggest you wear a safety jacket (you know, the bright neon coloured ones).
just thought i would put in here that NZ now has the cycle ways through out NZ that offer great cycle paths for people touring and most are back roads
Yes, new cycleways are popping up everywhere.
But if you are touring on a recumbent trike like I did, those are not much use as the cycleways are coarse gravel with two smoother paths where mountainbikes have been ridden and rough ridge on the middle! On a recumbent trike you make 3 tracks instead of one!
This means that you can only ride with one wheel on a smooth path while the other two slow you down on rough gravel!